lots of Kennedys

    One form of ignorance believes in things that don't exist, like magic and clairvoyance. Another form of ignorance claims that things that really happened are fictional. The Kennedys are one example of this. People see the assassination of Robert Kennedy in an old movie, and assume that it is an error or a fictionalization of the assassination of John Kennedy. Wrong--both assassinations really happened. John Kennedy was shot while he was president, in 1963. Robert Kennedy, his brother, was killed while running for president in 1968. Another Kennedy brother,  Ted ( Edward ) had a car accident in which a young woman was killed. Ted Kennedy survived the accident and served in the U.S. Senate for many years. The Kennedys were a large family, and many of them were involved in politics. One of the reasons movies show "clips" of famous events is to tell the audience the year.  If you're not sure whether an event portrayed in a movie is real or fictional, try searching it on the internet.

a common tautology

     A "tautology" is a classic error of logic--one on the list students were once taught to recognize and avoid. Someone using a tautology defines the thing or idea in question by defining the thing or idea in question--"it is what it is" is a tautology. A definition can make a sound  basis for an argument, but it is not a substitute for an explanation. A common tautology, or set of tautologies, that you can hear on TV crime shows sounds like this--
Question--"why did the suspect do these crazy things?"
Answer--"because he's crazy."--or "because he's a psychopath."
The "why" part of the question has not been answered.
Illogical.

The "argument by definition", in the case of the TV psychopath, would not be particularly useful, but would run like this--
A psychopath is defined as someone who commits violent crime for no discernible motive. He has no motive of profit, and no motive of protecting his reputation, two of the most common criminal motives. This criminal commits violent crime without any discernible motive, therefore this criminal is a psychopath.
 Logical, but not particularly useful.

# the world according to TV

     The world according to TV, Part 1--
90% of the employed people work as police officers, hookers, and serial killers. A few people have other jobs, but they are often vague when questioned about them. These may be undercover cops, hookers lying about how they make money, or serial killers on the lam.

whose picture is on the money?

     In the United States, we put the pictures of famous people from the American past on the money--and only pictures of dead people appear on the money.  If you look at different currency ( paper money ) from around the world, you will see some that has a picture of the reigning monarch ( king or queen ) on it. The king or queen is on every bill and usually on every coin. The image of the king or queen is what makes the money "real" or "good". British money is a good example. Queen Elizabeth's picture is on all of the money.    
      Some countries around the world use the same system for their money that monarchists use--the picture on the money is of the current president or national political leader. Other countries use a system of only showing historical figures on the money, as we do in America. Most Americans would not be comfortable with the idea that one person backs up the value of our money, or that the money is in some way connected to one supreme person. Britons may be finding that they are uncomfortable spending currency--the new Euros-- that doesn't have their queen's picture on it.

the harrowing of hell

     The "Harrowing of Hell" is the title of a sort of standard morality play put on in medieval Europe. Harrowing means raking up, as with a large farm implement that looks like a rake. Each year when the play was put on, different groups would present their own version of  "there ought to be a special place in hell for..."  To the bakers, there ought to be a special place in hell for people who bake bad bread. To the brewers, there ought to be a special place in hell for people who give short measure of ale. A "Harrowing of Hell " play might have dozens of "acts", each put on by a different trade group or guild, each sure that there ought to be a special place in hell for someone who practiced their own trade badly.  If anyone would consider reviving this custom, I think it might be quite popular.

the temperance movement

   The "temperance movement" refers, in a general way,  to the campaign to ban alcohol in the United States, in the late 19th and early 20th century ( late 1800's and early 1900's ). The "Anti-Saloon League" was a part of this campaign, as was Carrie Nation--the woman who reportedly walked into saloons with an axe, meaning to chop up the bar. Proponents of temperance were sure that banning alcohol would solve a lot of the problems of poverty, as it seemed to them that too many breadwinners spent their weekly pay in saloons, instead of on rent and groceries. The appeals for relief of their destitute wives and children inspired the  movement for temperance.
     The temperance movement succeeded in banning alcohol, in 1918, with the famous "Volstead Act", and an amendment to the constitution. The years, sometimes called "dry years" when alcohol was illegal are called "prohibition", for the prohibition of alcohol. Prohibition is also called the "Noble Experiment", meaning it had good intentions. The experiment didn't work. We need the consent of 3/4 of the states to amend the constitution, so we might assume that the law had a lot of popular support, but the majority of the population ignored or flouted it. Anyone who had been spending his paycheck at a saloon now spent it at a speakeasy.       
     Worse than failing to improve conditions among the poor, illegal distribution of alcohol supposedly gave organized crime a boost that made it something of a national institution. The prohibition of alcohol was repealed ( with another constitutional amendment ) in 1932--the "Happy Days Are Here Again" year.

you sue me, I sue you

    Today is "Law and Order" day, according to an email I received from your government and mine. Law and order, including civil law and order, is the American way, in a way. Our famous pilgrims, for example, landed on Plymouth Rock and then sued each other frequently. Reading their court records makes them seem like an obnoxious bunch of people who couldn't settle their differences without going to court. The most outrageous example was the two men who sued each other over a foot and a half of land for thirty-five years. But when you consider the alternatives to going to court--starting fights, making trouble to get your way, suing people starts to look like the civilized way to go.